This Doesn't Mean
by Suki-Alanna
Summary: It is the family curse, after all. They all fall for redheads.


Everyone always said that James would end up with a redhead. He never took them seriously, because _c'mon_, he was James freaking Potter.

James freaking Potter, a Gryffindor, a prankster, and _fearless._ But all the smart people (coughRosecough) know that fearless doesn't mean the absence of fear. James Potter is afraid of lots of things. He just ignores them. That's what makes a person brave.

He's afraid of losing someone. One day his family just… won't be there. They'll be lying under the ground, and he won't see them anymore. He is completely afraid of loss, but he jokes about death anyway. Because he's _James freaking Potter_ and that means he's fearless.

James is also afraid of his cousin, Rose. Everyone else is afraid of him, even Freddie and Louis, because James is unpredictable and he's always willing to pull a mean prank, even if it's on one of his best friends. He's just James that way.

He always left Rose alone. She flounced in with her auburn curls and James stopped what he was doing and got away fast. Rose wasn't a force to be trifled with. She was fire, and she would burn you if she had a mind too. That's how it always was with the Weasley family: they were picture perfect from the outside, but the most dysfunctional of families from the inside. They all had enemies within the family, and they were all so, so cruel to each other. It was just that way, and James reckoned it always had been and always would be.

Third, James was afraid of Slytherins. His dad had given him the speech before he left for Hogwarts. It wasn't the same one Ron had given Rose. In fact, it wasn't even close. Rose could only be a Gryffindor (though she ended up a Ravenclaw) and James could be anything. At least, that's what his father told him, and James believed it completely, because that was before he found out how cold and hard the world was and became just a bit jaded.

Of course, to no one's surprise, James became a Gryffindor. They said he was brave and deserved to be there, but James knew, in his heart, that it was because no one else would take him. He only became a Gryffindor because of his parents.

He played pranks on his own best friends, for Merlin's sake! No house in their right minds would take a boy like James Potter.

When he is in his sixth year, Freddie and Louis give up. They avoid James, and Rose flounces up to him one cloudy day. March fifth, in fact.

"James Potter," she begins her lecture, sounding exactly like his mum. "You may have noticed that your best mates—"

"Leave him alone," both Rose and James were shocked to see a shy Slytherin girl standing up for him. James knows her, of course, everyone does, but they had never actually spoken before. Where Rose was fire, Georgia Harper was ice. Rose surveys the older girl's face and then, without warning, turns to walk back and sit down with Scorpius Malfoy and James' younger brother, Al.

"Harper," James says

"Potter," Georgia cuts in, "I hope you know that this doesn't make us friends."

He smiles, understanding perfectly. "I know it doesn't, Harper. I have an owl to send, if you'll excuse me."

She does, and it's no surprise to him that at the same time the next day he finds her there, in the Owlery.

"Harper."

"Potter. I hope you know this doesn't mean I'm stalking you."

"Of course it doesn't, Harper."

The next day she isn't there, and he had to wonder if she really was just there by accident, but he heard Lily speaking. She told one of her friends that Freddie hit a Slytherin sixth year Prefect with a curse and that she was in the Hospital Wing.

James went right there, holding a hastily made bouquet of who knows what.

"Potter," she says when she sees him.

"Harper," he replies. Their greeting is becoming standard. "I do hope you realize this doesn't mean I care about you."

"Of course it doesn't," her tone is patronizing, but she smiles as he leaves the flowers and heads back down to the Great Hall.

It continues like that, the two of them becoming friends each day in their 'chance' meetings in the Owlery. Despite all, he's still Potter, and she's still Harper. He can't help but feel he wants to be James, and he wants to call her 'Georgia'.

"Hullo," she says one day, completely disregarding their usual greeting.

"Hello," he replies, a bit unsure, "…Georgia."

She turned her fact from him, toward the setting sun. "I always did like to watch the sunset, you know. It made me feel special, like it was going away and then coming back just for me." She laughs. "It was silly, I know, but I always just enjoyed it so much."

He looks at her then, and there is only one thing to do. James Potter kisses Georgia Harper, the Slytherin he could never have dreamed he would ever be capable of loving.

When they break apart, he asks, "Will you go out with me?"

"What took you so long?" She replies simply. "Oh, and James."

"Yes?"

"This doesn't mean we're dating."

"Of course it doesn't."

Because he was _James freaking Potter_ and in the end, he was better than all of them. What else could you expect from Harry Potter, the boy who lived's, son?

Nothing, that's what.

_(Just for the record, he did fall in love with a redhead)_

**Well, this is a very rough oneshot about James (finally!) that has nothing in its favor. It's for the Next Gen/OC Competition over at HPFC.**

**Georgia Harper was created by D a n c i n g With S t a r s. Actually, she was made by one of the two, but we won't go into that. JKR owns Harry Potter and anymore else you recognize. **


End file.
